Sanctuary
by Just delightful
Summary: Sanctuary is defined as a place of refuge or safety. We often seek refuge when we feel threatened or have no control over a matter, we often seek safety in a familiar place. Sometimes its a good thing and other times, it can be viewed as running. This story follows Dr. Maggie Pierce on a Journey to find herself...This is a Pro Maggie/ Jaggie Fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Why? Why did I believe that this time around it was going to be different? This was supposed to be it for me. I was opening up and expressing myself. I was able to talk about some of my fears and be vulnerable. I was opening up and It didn't feel like my world was caving in. I was ready to take the next step and move in. I felt safe and then, it all came crashing down. She said as she placed her hands over her face.

With a bouquet of lilies in her hand, Maggie sat across from her mother's grave with tears in her eyes. "Mom,'' she whispered softly, "I miss you so much. I wish I could hear your voice right now telling me everything was going to be okay. I just want to feel your arms around me, holding me tight and taking all this pain away. Mom, I knew it would be complicated but I trusted my feelings. I trusted him and I trusted you."

She put her head down and looked at the picture she held in her hand of her and her mother. It was the day she got on the plane to go to Seattle. She whispered, "I was so scared mom, but you told me that everything was going to be okay and you were right. Though it was rough at first, I found my people. I found a family and friends. I found love." She wiped her face, and said, "I love them so much, I loved him so much. I was willing, truly committed and I don't know mom, I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like my heart is breaking into a million pieces. I thought that I was safe, but I guess I was wrong. Now all I want to do is think about where things took a turn. When my love was not enough. When I was not enough.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Mom, what is wrong with me…" she paused and took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know what to do but what I do know Mom, is that I can't continue to let this break up consume me. I need to work on finding me and figuring out why it is so easy for people to walk away from me."

"What is wrong with me," she screamed out as tears flowed down her face and unto the picture.

"Okay," she said loudly attempting to calm herself down. "I need to go."

As tears streamed down her face, she placed the flowers in front of Diane's grave. She kissed her hand, reached out and touched the tombstone. While wiping her tears away she said, "I love you mommy and I'll be back soon." She got up and slowly walked away.

...

Later that evening, Bailey walked into his mother's room rubbing his eyes.

"Mommy, where is Auntie Maggie?"

"Sweetie, why are you awake? You should be in your bed."

"No mommy, I want to sleep with Auntie Maggie. I had a bad dream and I want to sleep with her. She keeps me safe," he said holding on to his Thor blanket. Where is she mommy?"

Meredith picked him up and rubbed his back as she carried him back to his bedroom. "Bailey, Auntie Maggie is probably at the hospital working late. You can see her in the morning."

"But Mommy," he said, "Auntie Maggie has superpowers. She keeps all the monsters away."

"You can see her in the morning. In the meantime how about I turn on your nightlight?"

"Okay. You promise I can see her tomorrow Mommy?" He said softly looking into his mother's eyes.

"I promise sweetie." She tucked him into bed, kissed his forehead and said that he would be safe because mommy was right down the hall and so was Auntie Amelia."

As she walked down the hall to her bedroom, she poked her head into Maggie's room. The lights were off and the room was dark. "Hmmm, maybe she is working late at the hospital. That boy and his Aunt," she said, shaking her head with a huge smile on her face. She made a note to text her in the morning to let her know to see Bailey when she got home.

…

The next day…

"Amelia", Meredith said as she made her way down the stairs. "Have you seen Maggie. I thought I heard her come in last night from the hospital but she is not in her room."

"I haven't seen her since yesterday," Amelia said while putting on Ellis' shoes. "Maybe she stayed at the hospital last night."

Both of them made their way to the kitchen to feed the kids breakfast and prepare their lunches.

Meredith picked up her phone to check for a missed call or a text from Maggie. "I got nothing from her Amelia. How about you?"

Amelia picked up her phone to check for a missed call or text message when she was notified that an email had just come through.

"Mere," she said with wide eyes…

"What is it Amelia?, What's wrong?" She got up and walked toward her.

"Effective immediately Dr. Ryan will be interim Chief of the Cardio department. Dr. Margaret Pierce has taken a leave of absence and in her absence he will be covering her service. With that being said, if you have any scheduled surgeries with Dr. Pierce, please contact Dr. Ryan to update him on all cases." - Chief Bailey

"Amelia, something doesn't feel right. Can you call her. I will go check and see if she left a note or something," Meredith said as she headed upstairs. Call her!"

Amelia picked up her phone and called Maggie. As she waited for her to pick up, she heard, "this phone is not in service at this time…" Amelia dropped her phone on the counter and quickly ran upstairs to find Meredith.

"Meredith," she called out, "Maggie disconnected her"… Amelia froze when she realized what she had walked in to. Amelia looked around the room and it was empty. The closet doors were open and there were no clothes in them. Her drawers were empty. She walked over and sat next to Meredith who sat quietly on the bed. "Meredith," Amelia said softly, "she disconnected her phone."

"She's gone. I can't believe she left without saying goodbye," Amelia said placing her head on Meredith shoulder.

"She'll be back Amelia. I know it! She will be back," Meredith said as a look of worry came across her face. How am I going to tell Bailey. How am I going to tell the kids?"

…

At the hospital...

Jackson was in the attendings lounge preparing for the day. He was preparing a cup of coffee when Alex walked in.

"Hey Avery, what did you do to Pierce?"

"What are you talking about Karev? I didn't do anything to Pierce. We broke up and we are not in a good place right now but I didn't do anything to Pierce."

"You must have done something because she is gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Wait," Alex said with a concerned look. "Check your email Avery?"

"What email?" Jackson said with a perplexed look on his face.

"Listen to me, check your email Jackson," walking toward him.

Jackson pulled up his email on his phone. A look of shock came across his face.

"Avery, are you okay?"

Jackson ran out of the attendings lounge

"Avery, Jackson, Alex yelled out, where are you going?"

He found himself standing outside of Bailey's office.

"Chief, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Dr. Avery, what's going on? Wait you want to take a leave too?"

"No, I just wanted to know if you knew where Dr. Pierce was. I got the email about her leave of absence and I am surprised that I wasn't made aware that she was taking leave."

"Why would you need to know that?"

"Because I am the head of the board. I have to know about personnel changes."

"Dr. Avery, that does not work with me. I don't care who you are on the board. I am the Chief and I handled it. I cannot tell you where Dr. Pierce is because it is her personal business. Besides, she didn't tell me anything. She said she needed to take some time off to get some things squared away. When I asked her how much time she said as much as she is allowed to take."

"How much time is that Chief Bailey?"

"That is none of your business Dr. Avery. It is her personal time. I know you are worried and you might feel like your at fault but she did make it clear that it had nothing to do with you or the blow up you guys had in the cafeteria the other day. When she left my office last night she was in good spirits. I'm sure she is fine. A little time off is not a bad idea for Dr. Pierce, she works non-stop and I actually encouraged her to take all the time she needed, because her job will be here waiting for her."

"How much time Dr. Bailey?" He repeated slightly raising his voice.

"Dr. Avery, I told you that it is none of your business. Dr. Pierce decided to take a leave of absence. She has until a certain amount of time to decide if she wants to keep her job. Leave it alone."

"If she wants her job back? What are you talking about Dr. Bailey?"

"Jackson, I am going to tell you this because I know that you care about Maggie and the two of you have a history. She came in to quit. She handed in her letter of resignation. I am the one that encouraged her to take a leave of absence. I don't know anything. You better not repeat this to anyone. Now that you know can you leave my office now," she said waving him out.

Jackson walked out of Bailey's office scratching his head. He made his way back to the attendings lounge to change into his street clothes.

"Where are you going?" Alex said with a look of concern on his face. "Is Maggie okay?"

"I don't know. I am going to go see Meredith. I'm sure she knows what's going on. Maggie loves her family, her job and she loves... he paused. She wouldn't just up and leave. That is not her… something has to be going on."

Jackson grabbed his stuff and walked out of the attendings lounge. On his way to his car he called Maggie. He was surprised when he got a message saying that her phone was no longer in service. Jackson put his phone into his pocket and ran to his car.

…

"I'm coming she yelled as she made her way to the door."

"Jackson, she said with a surprised look on her face. What are you doing here?"

"Meredith where is Maggie?"

"What do you mean where is Maggie?" Amelia asked as she entered the living room. "You don't have the right to ask about Maggie." She said with a scowl on her face.

"Jackson, what are you doing here? You made it clear that you didn't want to be with her anymore… what was it you said again, "Broken beyond repair."

"Mere you forgot the best part," Amelia said, "Their relationship should be thrown off of a cliff."

"Yes," Mere said as she looked up at him. "Again Jackson, what is it that you want?"

"I know I said those things but I am worried about Maggie," he said putting his head down.

"Now you want to worry about her," Amelia said as she made her way to the kitchen. "When she is gone, that is when you want to worry about her."

Meredith followed her into the kitchen and Jackson followed behind. "Listen, I know what I said was harsh and I didn't mean any of it. I was angry and frustrated. We were fighting and that is what came out. I am so sorry and I kick myself every single time I think about it."

"You should be sorry. We rooted for you and then you do this. Jackson you don't deserve her," Amelia said.

Jackson put his head down and whispered, "I know. I messed up. Now she is gone. Did she say anything to you ladies about leaving. When is the last time you saw her?"

"Well, I saw her yesterday when I was heading out to do my community service. She was headed to the hospital," Meredith said sipping on her coffee.

Amelia said, "well we had surgery together yesterday afternoon. She rushed out after her part because she had to go to the PIT for a consult."

"How about you?" Meredith said to Jackson as he looked at them.

"I was on the elevator and she got on. I didn't say anything to her. I wanted to speak but couldn't. She was looking down at the tablet. She didn't even acknowledge me. She just focused on the chart she was reviewing."

"Why should she," Amealia said sarcastically. "You made it clear that your relationship meant nothing to you."

"Okay Amelia, back off," he said aggressively.

"No Jackson," she yelled, "I am not going to back off. She is my sister, I'm worried, I don't know where she is, I am pregnant, emotional and I am worried about my sister." She took a drink out of her water bottle and made her way to her bedroom.

"Jackson I like you and though you didn't cheat on my sister, you really hurt her. She loved you. Like a lot. I have to protect her and right now I can't because I don't know where she is," Meredith said looking at him. "I know you are not to blame but I can't help but to blame you."

"Mere, I know that things are not good with us right now but I do love her. I really love her, all I wanted her to do was fight. Fight for our relationship."

"That is not how you do it Jackson. You told her you wanted her to open up and share more with you and she did. You wanted her to go camping with you, she didn't want to but she did. Do you know why?"

"Because she loves me," he said softly. "Meredith I am really worried. This is not like her."

"Well you can't say that Jackson. She is a Grey, Ellis is her biological mother. I ran after Derrick died and I came back. Maggie will be back."

"How do you know Mere?"

"I don't know, Jackson. I just can't lose anyone else. Especially not my sister."

Jackson and Meredith talked for a while before Amelia returned. "You're still here Avery? Why don't you just leave. Mere and I will take care of this."

"Amelia, I know you hate me right now and I want to help. I love Maggie and I want her to be okay. So please. I am not asking us to be friendly, but can we at least be cordial."

"Whatever Jackson," she said taking a seat next to Meredith.

"Should we call her father?" Meredith asked.

"No, I think we should wait until we have more information," Amelia responded. "We don't need to worry him if we don't have too."

Jackson sat back on one of the stools wondering if he should disclose to the ladies what Bailey had told him about Maggie wanting to quit. Not wanting to believe it himself, he decided not to repeat it. Maggie was coming back and he was going to hold on to that as long as he could.

"So where do we start?!" Amelia said looking at both Jackson and Meredith as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

…

Maggie walked out onto the balcony of her two bedroom apartment overlooking the New York City skyline. She was wrapped in a fleece blanket and could feel the crisp cold air against her skin. As the wind brushed up against her face, she couldn't help but smile, she missed the East Coast. The sun was setting and the view was so beautiful. It reminded her of the times she used to watch the sunset with her mother. She whispered, "Oh how I missed you mom."

As she sipped her wine she couldn't help but to think about everyone back in Seattle. She giggled when she thought about Bailey, Zola and Ellis. How at the end of the day they would come running to her asking her about her day and sharing stories about the activities they did at school. She missed them. She thought about her sisters and everything she left behind. As hard as it was to leave them, she knew that she needed to. She needed to focus on herself for a while. As her thoughts began to consume her, she was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing…

"Hello"

"Hi Maggie, How are you? How was your flight? Are you liking your accommodations?"

"Yes, yes, everything is great. I love my apartment and my flight was amazing, you really didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did, you work for me now. Nothing but the best for my doctors."

Maggie smiled and said, "well perfect then. Thank you!"

"No, thank you for accepting the position in such short notice. I know it is a big change but I know that this is what you need right now. We really needed you here."

Maggie sat on the bed and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Okay Maggie, the voice on the line said. I am going to email you all the information for your new role. Please take the weekend to rest up and tour the city. I will see you on Monday."

"Okay," Maggie responded as she sat down on the sofa.

"Are you sure you are okay."

"I am positive," she said confidently. "Thanks again for this opportunity."

"Chile please! Thank you and I will see you on Monday!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

48 hours earlier

That kiss… the way his hand gripped the back of her head. His tongue in her mouth and the way he looked at her when they pulled apart. It was... Maggie tossed and turned all night thinking about their last interaction. After running into him in the cafeteria, she tried to focus on work. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. It was just easier that way. Then it happened.

She entered the scrub room in OR two. He was there, scrubbing out. She didn't want him to see the hurt and the pain in her eyes so she put her head down as she scrubbed her hands in preparation for her surgery.

"Hey," he said looking in her direction.

"Hi," clearing her throat, "Dr. Avery. How was your surgery?"

"It was good. Patient is in recovery. I'm happy with the turn out."

"That's great," she said as she continued to scrub.

"Maggie," he whispered, "how are you?"

"Jackson I-"

"Maggie, I just want to know how you are doing?"

"I am doing the best I can Jackson. I am trying my best to get over us," she said as tears streamed down her face. "I need to get over us."

Jackson heard the pain in her voice. He knew he caused it and it was tearing him apart. Without hesitation, he stepped toward her and grabbed her, pulling her into his chest.

"Jackson what are you doing," she said looking up at him attempting to move away.

"I don't know if I can," he whispered and then their lips connected. His hand behind her head and her hands on his cheeks. The kiss was deep, it was comforting yet painful. She pulled away, stared into his eyes and without saying a word, she walked toward the door.

Jackson looked toward the door, "Maggie, please don't go. Please!"

Maggie walked out of the door without looking back, "I can't Jackson."

Jackson watched as the door shut behind her. He bent over the sink and said, "Damn it."

Maggie made her way to her lab and paged Dr. Ryan to meet her. She informed him of the surgery and needing him to cover her service for the rest of the day. She then went outside and sat on a bench to get some fresh air and to collect her thoughts. She placed her hands over her face and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Maggie, are you okay?" she heard a voice say.

"Oh. Hi, Catherine," she said, as her voice cracked.

Catherine walked over and placed a kiss on Maggie's forehead. "What's going on Maggie, I heard about you and Jackson. How are you?"

"I am fine. I know that he is your son so I don't want to say anything that might upset you."

"Dear, I will not be upset. I know how it is to have your heart broken. Things were not always the best with Richard you know but we found our way back to each other. I think that you guys hit a bump, it will get better."

"That's the thing Catherine, I don't think I want to go back. As much as I love him, I don't want to feel like this ever again."

Catherine grabbed Maggie's hand and said, "He really hurt you huh."

"He did, but again, you really don't have to do this."

"Listen Maggie, when I first found out about you two, I was worried because I thought if it didn't work out it would affect my marriage to Richard. Jackson told me that if things didn't work out between you two, I can take your side. I am not going to take sides and I want you to know that I am here for you. I love my son and he can be an idiot sometimes. I know he loves you."

"Catherine. I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want to feel normal again."

"Okay, Maggie, what do you need, what can I do for you right now."

"I really don't need anything. I need to figure out if I am going to be able to stay at Grey Sloan Memorial. I really don't want to complicate things. I just want to start over somewhere new. I am not running away from him, I just need to take care of me right now… This is all so new for me. I am so used to people walking away and things going back to normal. This time it's different, things can never go back to normal…he walked away from me and I was ready to go all in."

Maggie placed a kiss on Catherine's cheek, got up and walked toward the hospital entrance.

"Come work for me," Catherine said.

"What?" Maggie said turning around to face her.

"Come work for me. I need someone in New York to get our Cardio department up and running like it is here. You would be perfect. What do you say…"

"I don't know. I would have to leave everything and everyone behind."

"I know and honey, that is not a bad thing," she said wiping Maggie's tears.

"Listen, how about you try it out and if you don't like it, I will find you something closer to your family. A little distance for a while is not a bad thing. It will help you heal and figure out your next steps. What do you say?"

"Okay," she said, reaching out and grabbing Catherine's hand. She then said, "Can we not tell anyone about this? Not even Jackson. I know he is your son and I am asking you to lie to him but I really just want to start all over. Please do this for me."

"Are you sure Maggie?"

"I'm sure Catherine. She said reaching out for her hand."

How about Richard. Can I tell Richard?"

Maggie, looked at Catherine with soft eyes. "Yes, and please tell him that I will see him soon."

Catherine put her hands on Maggie cheeks and said, "I am here for you and I will make sure that you have everything you need."

Maggie smiled and whispered, "Okay."

"How soon can you start? I can get you settled by this weekend to start on Monday," she said.

"This coming Monday?" Maggie said surprisingly.

"Yes, this coming monday. We need you."

"Okay, just send me the details. I will talk to Bailey and I will be on the flight," she said shaking Catherine's hand.

"One more thing," Catherine said holding Maggie's hand.

"Promise me you will check in with me. Our relationship will not change."

"Catherine you are his mother, I don't want to come between the two of you," Maggie said looking away from her.

"Baby, I love you and care about your well being. I want and need you to be okay. Even though you are not with my son, I will always support you and be there for you. I will be there for you no matter what. Promise me Maggie," she said.

"Okay," she said, hugging Catherine tightly, "I promise." She placed a kiss on her cheek and walked into the hospital.

…

Saturday afternoon

"Jackson, Jackson," he heard a voice yelling his name. When he turned around he saw his mother walking toward him. "Boy you didn't hear me calling you? You look awful, what is wrong with you?"

Jackson had dark circles under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Hey Ma, no no, I am fine. When did you get back?"

"I have been trying to get a hold of you. I have been calling you since last night. What is going on with you?"

"Nothing, I am fine Ma. Did you need something?"

"Baby are you okay? What is going on, you don't look good. Are you sleeping okay?"

Jackson stopped and looked up. He placed his hands over his face and said, "Mom, I am okay… I promise, I am okay."

"Jackson!"

"Okay mom, I am not okay. I haven't been sleeping. I've been trying to stay busy and have been distracting myself with consults and surgeries."

"Baby, you need to take care of yourself," she said rubbing his head. "Is that all? I know that things are tough right now between you and Maggie since the break up. Have you two talked?"

"No Ma. We broke up. There is no need for me to talk to her. Besides, she wants nothing to do with me."

"Baby, you have to remember, she did tell you that you two will not be able to work together if you broke up. It's pretty clear that she decided that she needs to keep her distance, since you broke up with her. I have no doubt in my mind that she loves you. She went camping with you. Chile, if that ain't love, I don't know what is."

"I know Ma, please don't remind me of that disastrous day. If I could do it all over again I would take her feelings into consideration. I began questioning everything when we got back. All I wanted to do was work things out but she kept pushing me away. I was so confused and then I realized that maybe she didn't want to work things out. Instead of waiting for her to be ready, I decided I didn't want to wait anymore."

Jackson sighed and put his head down. He then said, "Instead of telling her how I felt Ma, I broke up with her."

"Wait what," Catherine said in disbelief.

"I told her that our relationship was beyond repair and that it should be thrown over a cliff. Ma, I was so frustrated with a case I was working on and I could not figure out what the problem was. I reacted impulsively and took it out on her. And all she came in to do was help and I-"

"So you used your patients situation to determine the outcome of your relationship. So what happened to the patient."

"He lived."

"Jackson," Catherine said crossing her arms. "I know Ma… I know. I thought she was going to break up with me. She always jumps ahead when it comes to things like this. I just never thought that she would just leave."

"What did you do Jackson? Is she ever going to want to return? She was one of the best Cardio Surgeons we had. If I could have cloned her I would of."

"Well after we broke up she made it clear that she did not want to be friends. She avoided me and we had petty moments and a big argument in the lunchroom however, that didn't really scare her away. We were managing you know."

"Okay so"… Catherine said looking up at him.

"I was scrubbing out of my surgery and she walked into the scrub room to scrub for her surgery. We started talking and when she looked at me with tears in her eyes, I grabbed her and kissed her. She kissed me back Ma, she kissed me back. Then she pulled away. She said nothing to me and just walked out of the scrub room."

Cathrine grabbed his hand and said, "Jackson what did you do?"

"I dont know Ma. All I know is that I miss her. I don't understand how she could just leave and not say a word."

Catherine looked at his tired face and placed her hand on his cheek. "So that is why you haven't been sleeping. You feel guilty, you are troubled by your decision."

"I really am Ma and now I don't know what to do."

Catherine gave him a hug and rubbed his back. She whispered, "Go home and get some rest. What's done is done. There is nothing you can do."

"Ma, can you help me find her." He said with bright eyes. "You are connected to a lot of people in the medical community. I'm sure she is not going to leave medicine."

Catherine looked at Jackson and said, "I will see what I can do. Can you do me a favor?" she said looking up at him."

"Go home and get some rest. Take a shower and come back to work on Monday. I will talk to Bailey."

Jackson looked at his mother and said, "ok."

"I will call you later Baby."

Jackson kissed his mother on the cheek and said goodbye.

Before leaving the hospital, Jackson made arrangements for Dr. Lee to cover his services. He then changed and left the hospital.

…

Jackson walked into his penthouse apartment after a long day at the hospital. He put his bag down and walked into the kitchen to grab a beer out of the fridge. As he walked toward the refrigerator he saw a note sitting on the table on top of a folded T-shirt. He picked up the note and read it...

"Dr. Avery, I know that you said Dr. Pierce took everything when she left but I found this and I know that it is not yours because you did not go to Yale, but Dr. Pierce did. Please let me know what you would like me to do with it. I can send it to her if you need me too. Just tell me where to send it to." -Alice.

Jackson took the T-shirt and moved it up toward his face. As he brushed the fabric against his face all he could do was think about her. He really missed her. He closed his eyes and could see her on her tippy toes grabbing his face pulling him in for a kiss and how he would gently massage her back under her t-shirt.

Distracted, Jackson forgot all about his beer. He grabbed the shirt and made his way to his bedroom. He opened his t-shirt drawer and moved a couple of things around. He pulled out a picture of them together at Alex and Jo's engagement party and then he pulled out a picture he took of her looking into the sunset as they sipped wine on the balcony. The way the sun reflected against her skin, it almost looked like she had a halo over her head. She was his angel. She was there for him during one of the hardest times of his life, she was his peace. He stared at the photo until he was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He quickly placed the photos back into his dresser drawer and placed her t-shirt with them. He then sat on the bed and picked up his phone.

"Hello, this is Dr. Avery," he said as he listened for the voice on the other end.

"Hi, Jackson, it's Bill Pierce. How are you? I was trying to get a hold of Maggie and I am having some difficulty. By any chance is she close to you? I tried calling Meredith but was told she is in surgery?"

Jackson let out a loud sigh and put his head down.

"Jackson, what is going on? Did something happen to my daughter? Jackson…?"

In that moment, his heart sunk… Jackson scratches the top of his head and said… "Mr. Pierce, Maggie is not around me...she hasn't been for a couple of weeks. You see, we broke up."

"Wait, you two broke up, why didn't she tell me?"

"I am not sure but we are no longer together." He said as his voice cracked. "I haven't seen her but if I do, I will tell her to give you a call."

Jackson heard the confusion and concern in Bill's voice and said, "I'm sure she is okay."

Bill said, "I am so sorry you two didn't work out. She was so happy with you. It was the first time in a long time I saw her allow someone in. Hopefully whatever it is, you guys can work it out. I am going to try and call Meredith again. Thank you for your help."

Jackson hung up the phone and sunk into his bed...he whispered, "Maggie, where are you?" he reached for his phone again and tried to call her and again he could not get through. He threw the phone onto the floor and covered his face with a pillow.

…

After unpacking every single box, Maggie stood in the middle of her living room with a look of concern across her face. She frantically looked in all the empty boxes and then ran into her bedroom to look through her drawers.

Where is it she said with tears in her eyes. Maggie paced back and forth trying to figure out where she had it last. Then she slowly sunk down onto the floor. As tears streamed down her face she wiped them away. She whispered, "I can't believe I left it behind."

She reached up and grabbed the photo of her and her parents on the nightstand. It was her first day at Yale. Her parents had finished moving her into the dorms and her mother was adamant about getting a Yale t-shirt. Before leaving she put it on and asked Maggie's roommate to snap a picture of the three of them together. She was so proud. Maggie smiled as she looked down at her mother in the picture. Smiling from ear to ear.

The tears continued to fall and all she could think about was the box Diane gave her before she died. In it was her engagement ring, a couple of family photos, some family heirlooms and that Yale t-shirt. It was the one thing that made her feel grounded when things were a bit rough. She wore it when she missed her mother because it provided her with the comfort of her embrace and she needed it… she really needed it right now.

Maggie got up and climbed into her bed. She held onto the photo until she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
